Social inclusion indicators for ethnocultural groups in Canada: Education and skills development

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Additional information

The Data visualization tool — Social inclusion indicators for ethnocultural groups in Canada: Education and skills development is part of a conceptual framework on social inclusion and covers a total of 11 themes. Each theme has a similar interactive visualization tool that is accessible on the page Data visualization tools — Social inclusion indicators for ethnocultural groups in Canada.

These themes are participation in the labour market, representation in decision-making positions, civic engagement and political participation, basic needs and housing, health and well-being, education and skills development, income and wealth, social connections and personal networks, institutions and public services, local community, and discrimination and victimization.

The framework, the indicators and the visualization tools are products released by the Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics that aim to support Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy by providing evidence. Over 120 indicators can be used to examine various socioeconomic facets of visible minorities which are being referred to as "racialized population" in analytical and communication products at Statistics Canada.

Visible minority

In 2021 Census analytical and communications products, the term "visible minority" has been replaced by the terms "racialized population" or "racialized groups," reflecting the increased use of these terms in the public sphere. For technical reasons the term "visible minority" is used in this data visualization tool. The data displayed in this visualization tool are measured from the standard census variable of visible minority.

Visible minority refers to whether a person is a visible minority or not, as defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.

For data quality reasons or to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act, the category of "West Asian," "Korean," "Japanese," "Visible minority not included elsewhere," and "Not specified" are included in "Total — Visible minority" and "Total visible minority population," but not available as an option of selection in the drop-down menu of this data visualization tool.

Gender and sex

Gender refers to an individual’s personal and social identity as a man, woman or non-binary person (a person who is not exclusively a man or a woman).

Given that the non-binary population is small and to protect the confidentiality of responses provided, individuals in the category "non-binary persons" are distributed into the other two gender categories and are denoted by the "+" symbol.

The sex variable in census years prior to 2021 and the two-category gender variable in the 2021 Census are included together in this data visualization tool. Although sex and gender refer to two different concepts, the introduction of gender is not expected to have a significant impact on data analysis and historical comparability, given the small size of the transgender and non-binary populations. For more information on the "Gender" variable and information on changes of concepts over time, please consult the Age, Sex at Birth and Gender Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

Definitions

Highest certificate, diploma or degree (6)
This series of six indicators corresponds to the highest certificate, diploma or degree which is the classification used in the Census to measure the broader concept of "educational attainment."
This variable refers to the highest level of education that a person aged 15 years and over living in a private household has successfully completed.
Knowledge of official languages (4)
Refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in English only, French only, in both or in neither language.

Related products

Social Inclusion Framework for Ethnocultural Groups in Canada, Infosheet

Reference guide on the social indicators for ethnocultural groups in Canada 2024, Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series, March 2024

Perceived health and well-being indicators among racialized groups, 2023, Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series, February 2025

The Daily – Social inclusion for ethnocultural groups in Canada: New tables

The Daily – Statistics on social inclusion for ethnocultural groups in Canada: New products and selected results on the evolution of education among racialized groups, 2006 to 2021

The Daily – Housing conditions among racialized groups: a brief overview

The Daily – Portraits of the social, political and economic participation of racialized groups

How to use

How to use this interactive visual

Social inclusion indicators can be visualized in a chart for one or multiple groups within the visible minority population, which are being referred to as "racialized population" in analytical and communication products at Statistics Canada.

The results can be disaggregated by a specific sociodemographic profile and geography such as a province or territory, a geographical region of Canada and a census metropolitan area (CMA). For selected indicators, it is also possible to make comparisons over time.

The chart can be created by:

  • selecting one social inclusion indicator in the first drop-down menu at the top left;
  • selecting the reference year(s);
  • selecting a geographic location;
  • selecting one or multiple groups within the visible minority population;
  • selecting the sociodemographic characteristics of the chosen visible minority group(s).

The social inclusion indicators are drawn from a variety of data sources, including the Canadian censuses of population, social surveys, and other administrative databases produced at Statistics Canada. As a result, some databases offer greater flexibility for analysis purposes, while the level of disaggregation in others is more limited.  Furthermore, the available options in the filters for selecting sociodemographic characteristics, geography and reference years vary from one indicator to another, depending on the data source of a given indicator.

For the indicators from social surveys, a drop-down menu is available to display confidence intervals.

The charts of this visualization tool only display data that meet Statistics Canada's data quality standards or the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act. For these reasons, the results of some selection options may not appear in the chart.  

More information

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Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry,

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 71-607-X

Ottawa

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